inFAMOUS: Shadows of Titans
by Noxmad
Summary: Seven years ago, Cole MacGrath made his sacrifice in New Marais. Now, a young teenage girl from the City of Angels discovers she is a conduit. Delsin has gone to Curdun Cay and absorbed every new power that it had to offer. With the D.U.P. taking shelter in the City of Angels, Delsin is on his way and a divided city is about to have war.
1. proLOGUE: The Calm Before the Storm

**proLOGUE: The Calm Before the Storm**

Heavy breaths, water splashing, and feet slapping on concrete were all that could be heard in that alley in the City of Angels as I, Ellen DeAscentus 17 years old as of last October in 2018, was running as fast as my legs would take me. Behind me, no more than 10 feet away, were the bullies giving chase. I really had not meant to anger them today, but an unfortunate push in the high school lunch line had caused me to knock into the the leader and spilling pudding all down the girl's front. Needless to say, they waited till the end of school to get back at me. It had rained the night before and the cold air stung my lungs as I felt the water splash up around my legs soaking my pant legs.

"Get back here, you little bitch!" their leader, Laurie, yelled. Little was perhaps a little too accurate of a description. I was short and thin. A total bookworm by choice, my lack of athletic prospects except my recently developed running on a regular basis left her at a mere 5 foot 0 inches. As I ran, I knew they were going to catch me eventually if I could not change things. The bookstore! I cut across the street barely managing to dodge a car on my way. Taking a quick moment to look back I could see the bullies slowed to avoid getting hit by the cross traffic. With this opportunity, I ducked into the book store.

"Well then, it's little DeAcentus. Good to see you today," the book store owner commented. He was a strangely tall older Asian gentleman. He was often wearing suits, vests, pocket watches, and I even caught him once donning a pair of pince-nez.

I looked at him and moved to a back room I liked to study in. "Hey Mr. Yamamoto. Got lots of homework and need some space. Talk to you in a bit," I said hastily. Mr. Yamamoto seemed to be taken back by this outburst until he looked back towards the door and saw the group of girls readying to enter. However I had closed the door to the study room at this point. I pressed myself against the far wall and squeezed in between the bookshelves in the corner. Sitting down, I tucked my legs in tightly, kept my head down and hoping to just disappear. Books never hurt me like this. Then I heard the doorknob turn and the door open. My heart leapt up into my throat and I felt the tears begin to well as I curled up tighter.

"Little Ellen, where are you?" Mr. Yamamoto called softly. I looked up to see him looking around the room. I squeezed out of my corner as he looked my way. I moved closer to him then collapsed into his arms crying. "Oh, little Ellen. You are safe now, I have sent them away. Shh," he comforted me. Mr. Yamamoto was one of the few friends I had in this city. Being the owner of this bookstore put a lot of point in his favor, but mostly it was his caring nature that made him the best friend I could ever want. On top of which, he was my dad away from home, since the step-dad did not like me all that much if the bruises on my arms and torso were an indicator. Life in the City of Angels was far too hellish for the name.

After crying for a few minutes, I composed myself. "Thank you," was all I could say to him. I headed for the door. "I should go home. We'll talk later ok?"

He chuckled. "I'll be here," he replied. He always was.

I made my way out of the shop. The fastest way to get home would be to go to the end of the block, to avoid being out for too long. I was only about 10 feet from the store when I was grabbed and dragged in between the buildings.

"Hey bitch!" Laurie greeted me and then punched me in the face. If all three of them did not have at least 4 inches on me, I may have tried to fight back. No, that would just make it worse. The two goons held me in place for their leader. Fist after fist, hit after hit and I was starting to lose consciousness. I guess they realized this because then they threw me at a nearby trashcan. I landed in the cold water and the temperature shock woke me right up. The loud clanging of the trash can caught my attention for some reason and the contents that spilt out looked like old files of some sort. That was when things suddenly changed. It was a force, pulling at the edge of my mind at first. Those old paper files called out to me in a way I had never felt anything before. I don't know why I did it. I reached out to the old files like they were a lifesaver and this puddle I was laying in was an open ocean. The second I laid my fingers against them, my body changed. It was light at first, but I felt myself feeling, nothing. The pain was fading away. The paper in my hand disappearing into my skin.

"Where do you think you are going?" My bully's voice, which once scared me, demanded from behind me. One of her goons picked me up held me in Laurie's direction. What followed was perhaps the weirdest sensation I have ever felt, the sensation of my body, painlessly scattering into sheets of paper when Laurie's fist first made contact with my face, it then slipped completely through the maelstrom of paper and nailed her own friend in the face. My paper flew down the alley they had pulled me into and I reformed a distance away from them sheets of paper slipping back into place as my body rebuilt itself slowly from the head down.

"You really are a freak aren't you?" Laurie accused. "I am going to have my parents call the DUP on you… you Bioterrorist." Laurie ran with her goons in tow. I felt strangely good, powerful. But then the dread sank in suddenly. I was one of them, a conduit. I can't go home. What should I do?

"Ellen, you are a conduit?" I heard a familiar voice ask. Looking up, I saw Mr. Yamamoto at the end of the alleyway.

"I-I-I," I struggled to find the words. I turned and got ready to run but my body had other idea as I fet myself shift awkwardly, like my body was no longer a singular entity but many entities working in unison. When I got my feet solid on the ground I tried to run.

"Wait! Ellen," Mr. Yamamoto called out. I heard something break behind me. Next thing I know, something had me by the ankle mid-stride. Looking down, the sound that escaped my lips from what I saw was almost nonhuman. A hand made of sand gripped my ankle. I fell forward and for a moment, my foot seemed to separate from my body. When I landed, the paper slipped out of the sand and back to where my foot was supposed to be. I looked back up to see Mr. Yamamoto connected to the sand hand, on the far end. At his feet was a broken jar. Was he carrying around sand? What am I thinking? He's a conduit?! "Come with me, Ellen."

The sand returned to him and he seemed to absorb it into his body. How did he control it that well? I walked over to him awkwardly, trying to keep my body from separating again and he walked back into his store. "Be careful around the books, I do not know how volatile your powers are for absorbing your material!" he explained loudly as he dug into the back of his counter.

"Mr. Yamamoto… you are a conduit?" I asked him slowly. Of course he would be taking this well if that were the case.

He popped back up from behind his counter. "Guilty as charged. And please, call me Mike. We're peers now," he said pulling up with him a strange device. It looked like a cellphone but… different.

"This is a palm pilot. I have no particular care for it, but I need you go to the address I write on it. Your powers kinda make writing it down elsewhere impossible for the time. You must not go home, not now at least. The people here will be able to help you, cause I have to warn you, it is going to get worse before it gets better," Mike(?) told me hastily. "You must have questions, we have a little time."

"Mr… Mike," I started, I did not like this at all. "Why did this happen?"

"Well, I am not an expert in conduit-isms, but it seemed that you being near your element in a highly stressful time, jump started your conduit gene," Mike explained. "I do wish mine had made itself known like that."

"How did you get yours?" I asked avoiding referring to him by name.

"Naturally just happened one day, at the beach," he explained. It became painfully clear how the rest of the story goes from there. "Let's just say there is a reason I am still single." He did lightly chuckle after that comment.

"Why do I need to go to this address?"

"Well," Mike remarked slowly, "how much do you know about conduit history?"

I sighed. "Not much to be honest, they don't really teach that in school."

Mike then went back under his counter and pulled from it a picture. It was of a man facing off against a giant red man. "This right here, is one of the most important moments of conduit history. The man here is Cole MacGrath. He was among the members of the first wave of Conduits. They were much rarer back then, but with the threat of the Beast on the horizon… he was one of the greatest single heroes in history. He was considered dead shortly after this picture was taken. To save all of humanity at the cost of conduits around the world, he defeated that beast. Well, years later the government doesn't want us to know his story. They want people to fear us, hate us. Only to have Delsin Rowe show up in Seattle this year to prove to the world why they need the D.U.P. Sigh, look we don't have much more time. Get to this address, you need to not be here when the D.U.P. show up," he said. I took the palm pilot and looked at the address. It was uptown. "We'll see each other again, Ellen. I promise, I won't leave you out there alone."

Everything was happening so fast. "Goodbye, Mr. Yamamoto," I said and I made my way outside. I could not let him see me cry twice in one day. I pulled my scarf up over my chin and pulled my hood up over my short dark hair. As I stepped out onto the crosswalk a piece of paper blew across my path. With no cars in sight, I reached out to it and caught it. I immediately felt it start to join in with my skin. Why did it feel so natural? Was it always like this for conduits?

Making my way through the city, it no longer felt like my home. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, keeping an eye out for anyone who might know me, so I could be ready to run the other way. My old life was over now. It took my nearly an hour to get out of the downtown and as I walked the crowds got thicker, easier to hide myself inside. I pulled back my hood but kept my scarf pulled up over the bottom half of my face, just incase. The people around me seemed to tower over me and my solitude never felt more real than in that moment. It would be another hour before I got to the address provided to me. A place called Cole MacG's Electronics. Why did he send me to an electronics store? I pushed open the door and all that was here was a man with a shaved head.

"Welcome to Cole MacG's," he said not looking up from a magazine in his hands. "How may I help…" he paused when he actually looked at me."...You," he finished.

I cleared my throat, "My name is Ellen, I was told you could help me."

"Well we have all manner of electronics, what can I help you with?" He asked.

"Well… I-I-I," I started to stammer trying to make sure I was in the right place without giving to much away. "I am not here for electronics." He raised his eyebrow at me. "Mr. Yama… Mike sent me." This got a reaction. He simply looked at me and then nodded.

"Head into the back kid, the boss'll be in to see you in a minute." he gestured to the door behind the counter. I walked over to it and he watched me go. The room I entered was an office. A desk with a name plaque that said, "Cole MacGrath." Wait, Cole!? Like who Mr. Yamamoto told me about from before?

The guy from the counter walked in and sat down in chair. "So, you are a conduit then?" he asked. His voice was rough and gravely.

"Y-y-yes. I just found out today actually," I admitted. "You are Cole MacGrath?"

"I see Mike has been talking about me again," Cole commented idly. "Those days were a long time ago. So what is your material?"

"Paper," I told him.

This prompted Cole to take a notepad from his pocket curl it up and toss it at me. The paper landed in my hand and immediately began to meld with me. "So you really are brand new, huh?" He asked out loud. I got the feeling it was rhetorical. "Look, I gotta be honest with you kid, being a conduit nowadays is not easy. You gotta make some hard decisions about your future right now, cause anyone who spends too much time thinking ends up in D.U.P. custody or dead. There is the Conduit Underground. They could teach you to use your powers, but they are a bit militaristic. Strongest are leaders and all of that. You could let the D.U.P. take you, but if even half of the rumors are true, then I highly suggest you don't. Or you take to it like I did, just survive on your own. You'll learn quickly that you have have become physically stronger, faster, and more resilient to damage. Of course you will have me and Mike around, and…" his phone rang. He sighed and went to answer it. I thought about the last option. Could it really be any worse than living at home right now?

"Zeke? What's up?" Cole said into the phone. "Give me a moment to put you on speakerphone."

The phone suddenly started letting off noise. "Alright man, you gotta hear this. You heard about what the D.U.P. has been doing up north right? Seattle on total lockdown, conduits be warned and be damned right? Well the kid Delsin Rowe we've been hearing about? It is worse than we thought. He won. Everyone is more scared of conduits than ever. The news is on its way south, you best be extra careful till I get back, brother."

I could not believe what I was hearing. As it turned out though, Cole and Zeke were both far too right about what happened next. Delsin Rowe of Washington State made an official declaration against the DUP and the world that conduits were here to stay, that they were the thing to fear on this planet. Within weeks of this event, the DUP had set up camp in the City of Angels. They ended up separating the city into four districts which locked me into the Uptown District. Both a blessing and a curse, since the D.U.P Would have looked for me in the residential district thanks to Laurie, but now I am separated from Mr. Yamamoto, the only other person in this city I could trust besides Cole. The Conduit Underground also schismed into four pieces each one fighting the good fight to survive in their districts. It was in a single moment though that put the City of Angels in hell. Delsin Rowe was reported to be on his way to City of Angels with two other conduits in tow. Two conduits who assisted him in setting up a massive break out from Curdun Cay Life became very difficult and I found myself hiding in dumpsters on more than one occasion. I on the other hand had been training my abilities with Cole, who was the only other person in this City I could trust. While I had control over my abilities for the most part, I still could not have much contact with Paper without simply absorbing it still. However, it was better than nothing. Especially cause I was constantly finding out new things about what I could do now. However when Delsin arrived in the City of Angels, everything would change.


	2. firstCHAPTER: You Fly on Paper Wings

**Hullo! So quick deal here, my name is Noxmad, you can call me Nox, Noxxie or even hey you over there with the account. The reason I wanted to leave a quick note here at the beginning of this story is due to the fact that I will be including a series of OCs as part of the ongoing cast we got here.**

 **On top of which, I just wanted to warn you about some perspective shenanigan coming up in the chapters to come. Not all chapter will be from the eyes of Ellen. I will do my best to keep you guys in the loop when these things happen though.**

 **Please enjoy! -Nox**

" _Every man is guilty of the good he did not do._ "

— Voltaire

"What. The. Hell?" I heard Cole said looking at the TV screen whose footage of Delsin Rowe's arrival had been cut off to static. Zeke, a bit of a pudgier man with a hairstyle reminiscent of that of a pompadour, was with him and two of them were very focused on the screen.

The footage had been shown basically around the clock all day, but those two had been traveling and working so I was the only one who had seen it. A young man from the akomish tribe in a red beanie with fire in one hand and gales of wind being thrown from the other. D.U.P. agents were being slaughtered in droves. That however did not stop the man Delsin and two other conduits from engaging in a little R&R as I decided to call it. Raising Hell and Razing the City. The footage cuts to static as Delsin leaps into the air with a chain radiating flaming energy charging the camera.

"I had heard the rumors that he had achieved the ability to do that but, I didn't know they were true. Multiple powers?" Zeke whistled. "Like it isn't completely unheard of, but the sheer variety is insane."

"A power sponge, that was how Augustine described him before they killed her. God damn, he must of gotten it from the Curdun Cay break out. He really was the one that did it," Cole remarked bitterly, however a new look of resolve came over his face. He looked over at me. "El, you ready for some more training?"

I nodded. I had ended up basically working for Cole MacG's Electronics. In exchange for cleaning up the store, he agreed to give me lessons for controlling my Conduit Powers. It was because of him that I could actually hold paper without worrying about absorbing it immediately.

"So today we are going to do some stress testing on your powers, Range, speed, frequency, and accuracy. So we are going to take a break from the self-defense lessons. We know you can launch paper projectiles. At first they were just wads but you have figured out how to form sharp edges. I am still reeling from one of the paper cuts. I want you to launch it as fast as you can. What your material lacks in weight, you will make up with in velocity. As for your first major power, we will see how far you can go, how accurately you can travel. As well as teaching you the limits of the changes your body will have gone through," Cole explained. He had clearly done this type of thing before. Both for himself and with the others Mr. Yamamoto had sent to him. Cole took an apple from a cooler he had behind the counter.

"We are going to have you try to cut this in half by the time we are done training your projectile," Zeke announced finally turning off the TV. I nodded again. These two talked enough that I was usually fairly quiet during our training times.

I reached my hand out towards the apple on the counter. My power sprouted from my palm and the paper lashed forward from my hand. The shape of the paper seemed to naturally take that of a large arrowhead. Seemed to be some kind of a natural urge as far as I can guess. The arrowhead projectile launched out of my hand and it landed in the apple.

"1 inch," Zeke announced. "About 3 more to go."

I concentrated on the apple and fired another one. This one went to the right. It sliced into the apple, but it bounced off the wall in the back of the shop. I fired two more in sequence. The first drifted left but did take a small chunk off the curvature of the apple. The second embedded in the apple.

"Inch and a half. Give it some gusto, go wild girl!" Zeke encouraged. Before I could fire another shot Cole walked over.

"You know, something that helped me was focusing on emotion. Repetition is all good, focus is fine. But you need a mental power source. My biggest breakthroughs were after or during moments of high emotion," Cole explained gently. Mr. Yamamoto had said something similar about my powers when I first found them. My high stress situation with Laurie had caused it to open the flood gates. Which her bullying was caused by things. Things that made me mad.

My step dad. The thought made my blood boil. I looked back at the apple. Years of abuse were being spearheaded through that apple, years of my mom looking away. I launched a series of paper projectiles. The first was enough to split open the apple and the others that followed were just there to destroy that apple.

"Jeez girl!" Zeke exclaimed at the pulpy mess.

Cole nodded. He then spoke to me again in soft tones. "So anger definitely seemed to help. Just make sure you don't make decisions with it, ok?"

"Decisions?," I replied.

Cole nodded. "Don't let it cloud your judgement."

I did feel better after that. It was rather cathartic and the anger had passed. "So what is next tonight?"

"Your dashing ability," Cole answered. "First accuracy, then we are going to go for distance. Accuracy is going to be a test of basic navigation. Over the counter in front of the door without touching the back wall. Fully understood?"

"Yessir," I replied quickly. I looked at the spot he wanted me to go. I felt myself turn to sheets as I flew forward and ended up on top of the counter and my heels slipped off. Cole caught me effortlessly. He set me back down and walked over to my starting position. I needed to go higher and further. Centering myself and calming my nerves I got ready for my next attempt. I dashed forward and felt myself get caught on something. As I reformed, my foot was caught on the edge of the counter. "Dammit," I muttered under my breath. But, that run taught me something. I have to adjust my normal sense of self to fit in the area I am going to be going through. I felt it like it had tripped me before I had fully reformed. The paper form I assumed still followed the rules of my body. I got off the counter and went back to my launch off point. I dashed forward.

With my previous realization in mind, my power felt different this time. When I dashed forward before I felt thin, stretched out and out of control. This time, when I dashed forward my body maintained shape in the paper form. The paper form had papers scatter about from my paper body due to the momentum. It almost felt like being naked in a weird way, like showing myself in as primal of a form as my power would allow. I curled up on my over the counter, my sight much clearer this time as my power took form. I landed on the ground where I was instructed and the paper form disappeared as my normal form began to return from the head down.

"Your power changed," Cole commented. "You didn't maintain a recognizably human form before. What changed?"

I looked at him with pride. "I realized that my power still made me feel things like I was still whole and I needed to aim my body like it was still the same way it was shaped," I replied happily.

Zeke cheered and Cole simply smiled back for a quick moment. "Good job kid," Cole congratulated me. He ruffled my hair. It was like having a real father for a moment. "It is dark enough outside now, let's go."

The three of us left the store and made our way to the alley nearby. "So where did you want me to go?" I asked.

Zeke took a ball out of his pocket. "I am gonna throw this up on to roof and I want you to get up there and catch it. Just cause you are able to aim yourself now, I want to see you also be able to land in a way that will leave you ready to continue taking actions. Ready?"

"Ok," I replied. Zeke threw the ball and I dashed up to the roof. I landed perfectly fine but I lost track of the ball and heard it bounce on the ground below me.

"Jump on down," Cole called up.

"Jump?" I asked incredulously. He nodded. "Are you crazy?"

"It won't hurt, in fact you could jump off of a skyscraper without feeling it as long as you don't try too hard to resist the g-forces. No powers involved."

"Ok…" I said shakily. I approached the edge. Looking down made me immediately queasy. I turned away from the drop off and stepped to the edge, my heels barely over the edge. I stepped back and felt myself fall. My feet hit the ground and my knees bent some from the force, but I did not feel the impact from landing. "Whoa!" I exclaimed idly. I turned towards my teachers' with a big smile on my face.

Zeke laughed. "It is pretty cool, sometimes makes me wish I was a conduit. But, the night is moving, you have other lessons to do," he said to me cheerfully. So we readied for this lesson again. I ended up missing the ball three more times until I was finally able to catch it the first time. I landed facing the edge into the alley so that I would just have to reach out and catch the ball. We repeated the lesson a few more times until we were satisfied.

Cole started climbing the building and I followed him back up by climbing as well. He was really good at climbing. I tried to follow his lead, but it was much harder than he made it look. It took some time, but with my enhanced strength, I made it to the top with minimal strain, mostly just a lot of learning effort. Zeke followed after.

"Now, we need to see how far you can go," Cole announced. "Almost all Conduits I have met can levitate in some way. So with your powers, I want you to find a way to make it from this building to the far side of the street, the building over there," Cole explained pointing at a closed store. He then ran towards the road and a spire of ice exploded from the ground beneath him launching him in the air. His arms crackled with electricity as he floated across the street.

"Hey, Zeke?" I asked not looking away from Cole's flight. Zeke grunted. "Conduits usually only have one or two powers right? Usually related to each other?" He hummed in confirmation. "So how does Cole have ice and electric powers?"

"Well you see, Conduits do usually maintain multiple types of power, well sorta. Cole had the power of electricity which he could also use to modify magnetism. Back in New Marais we knew two other conduits. Kuo and Nix. Kuo had powers over ice and the power of flight. The other one, Nix had some kind of fire and oil/napalm type power. Well in that town was this man named Bertrand. This sonovabitch had the power to manipulate genetics and create mutations including himself. Well we found out he had a device that could transfer powers. He and Kuo used it. He ended up inheriting her Ice powers but the device broke before it could be used again. Chances are, there is another aspect of your power you have yet to discover kid, Your turn," Zeke told me. I looked at the sheer distance. What Zeke had told me was interesting. Just how far could conduit powers be stretched? What about Delsin Rowe? What power was his? I ran to the edge of the building and jumped into the air. I dashed forward and I tried to push myself as far as I could go. I regained my form and then I tried to push my power downward to mimic Cole but nothing happened and I fell. I only made it just over half way.

"Nice try kid," Cole commended. "Try it again."

I walked back to his building. Climbing up this time was a little bit easier but I was still a little clumsy. "Hey El, try to picture what you want your power to do," Zeke suggested. I turn towards the road again. How would my power work like this? I concentrated on how a person with paper would fly. Paper Wing by Rise Against suddenly came to mind. They were one of my favorite bands. So thinking of the song, I thought what if my paper made wings?

I ran forward to the edge and concentrated on pushing power from my back. I could feel it welling up but nothing happend and once again I fell significantly shorter than my first attempt. I ran back to the roof and dashed to the top. This time, would be the time. With a massive push, I leapt from the building and felt the paper sprout from my back. It spread out into the form of wings, though I could feel other parts of me disappear in order to do this. My feet and lower legs gone and the back of my shirt completely missing. I soared forward and landed on the far roof with a flap of my wings. Their shape dissipated as the papers scattered and reformed my body and clothes.

"Cole," I asked after a moment, curious to get a history lesson from someone who was there. "What happened in New Marais?"

"New Marais? Well The Beast attacked the city. I used a device that inhibited the rays that powered him. However, it was fatal to people who had the conduit gene. Many people died that day, but for some reason it seems that the device did not kill all of them, cause well here you are," he explained.

I thought for a moment. "How did you survive?" I asked.

"As far as either I or Zeke can tell, Divine Intervention is the least ridiculous thing we could guess," he answered sarcastically. "I did die that day, a bolt of lightning struck my body and it revived , many were not so lucky as me or you," Cole explained taking a seat on the edge of the building. "Tell me El, who were you before you got the paper wings?"

I sat down next to him. "What is to tell? I was a High Schooler. A total bookworm, quiet. I was bullied constantly due to my… reasons," I answered to him.

"Reasons?" Cole asked.

I sighed. Might as well tell him something about it, considering I just brought up his death. "My dad died when I was 10. My mom, was torn up about it for a about a week until she 'met' Eric. They were married in a month, and needless to say, I started to go to school with bruises and within a year my baby sister was born. They love her on the condition that I am the only thing he gets to abuse and Mom looks away. I-I-I," I started to feel the emotions well. I curled up as much as I could, but Cole leaned me against him, laying a hand on the top of my head..

"I just miss my Dad. Not a day goes by where I don't wish he were still here. The girls at school found my bruises during Gym and P.E. I became their punching bag. I can't tell the difference from their bruises or his," I cried harder and his hand slowly rubbed my hair.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, El. But you got me and Zeke now. I'm not gonna say we can replace your father, but we'll take care of you, kid."

Thank you. I wanted to say it but I could not get the words out. How does one deal with all of this? "I need to go think," I said to him as I stood up. I leapt forward and the wings sprouted from my back again with much the same effect on my body as before. I drifted through the air, it was a freeing moment. But I could feel it start to strain against my powers very quickly. I landed in a nearby park, my wings remain unfurled for a while, then they faded away. Looking around the park, the pond in the middle perfectly reflected the full moon. Suddenly a splotch on the water caused me to look up at the moon. But no, that was not the source of the shadow. It was something on the water. Human shaped and heading in my direction.

As it approached, it became very much more apparent that it was a man around my age if not a little older.

"You're a conduit, too?" The man asked me roughly.

I took a defensive stance and replied, "Who's asking?"

"Sammy. Sammy Burns. I'm a Water Conduit," Sammy introduced himself still just as roughly.

"Ellen. Paper Conduit," I replied cautiously.

Sammy smirked. "Paper?" He asked arrogantly.

My eyes narrowed at him. "You have a problem with that?"

"You must soak quickly," he said with a hint of hunger on the edge of his voice, water danced between his fingers. I scowled at him as I began to walk away. He followed me. I stopped at a nearby trashcan. "You following me?"

"You going somewhere?" He asked.

I turned toward him with the trashcan right behind me. I let the paper in it start to climb into my hand as I began to feed my power store. "I am going to give you one chance to swim away, Waterboy," I growled.

"I am going to tear you up paper doll," Sammy said to me with a twisted grin on his face. A blast of water suddenly launched from his hands. I felt myself launched backwards, so I dashed away towards a nearby tree. With both hands pointed his way, I let fly a torrent of paper arrowheads. He raised a hand and a wall of water caught the paper projectiles. Damn it. A solid stream of water then shot out of the wall to my position. I dashed to another tree. When I landed, he already had a stream of water blasting my landing location and I felt myself get thrown back across the park. I skidded to a stop on the edge of the park. Why did I think I was ready for battle? I was only just getting a grasp on my powers. He walked towards me with long streams of water being dragged behind him. I got to my feet, cause I knew he was not going to stop. So I would have to outsmart him.

He brought the two streams of water together in front of himself and tried to smash me between the two of them. I dashed directly at him and reappeared just behind him. Bracing myself with my feet, I planted my elbow into his back with my enhanced strength. I felt his spine pop from the hit and he fell backwards as I stepped away from him. I turned to run.

"Don't you run from me!" He yelled out at me. Water suddenly rose from the pond and rushed me. I summoned my wings, I knew I had no time to take off. My body once again seemed to partially scatter about. I wrapped my wings in front of my body and let the water beat down on them like a torrential storm. I felt it quickly wearing through my wings. I need it to last me a little longer. I felt the paper began to harden and thicken. The water broke around them and they managed to sustain the shield long enough to survive the attack. Or so I thought when a second wave washed them aside and I felt myself forced on the force of the water.

Was I going to die? Why here? Why now?

The water stopped just before I lost my breath. Panting, I looked around to see a new person in the park, a woman with long flowing blonde hair. From her fingers, long shafts of… BONE?!


	3. secondCHAPTER: Seeds of Freedom

**Hullo! Hullo. again! Nox here. Glad to see I have got a couple of you interested. I am so thankful for the support on my fanfiction postings since this is the first time I am doing it. To** **Bluepaw26, I am glad to hear you like his character cause he is going to be around a lot!**

 **As warned in the previous chapter, this is where the first of the perspective shenanigans occurred. Please enjoy the chapter and to learn a little more about me/my writing style stick around to the end of the chapter.**

 **Please enjoy! -Nox**

 _Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago._

 _-_ Warren Buffett

One Month Earlier...

There are some things I have learned about the world since I got taken to Curdun Cay. First, survival is based on a desire to fight but knowing how to pick your battles. Second, everything good we have in this life, can be traced back to a planted seed of goodness we made in the past. I have been here for nearly 5 years and they have yet to break me. Augustine even took a particular interest in me like some of the other prisoners here. She wanted to train me. She wanted to corrupt me. Make me a weapon to convince the world that the D.U.P. was still needed. It might have worked with Hank, Abigail, and Eugene. I was cut from a different cloth. So when the big rebel Delsin Rowe showed up with Fetch and Eugene at Curdun Cay, I knew I had to act. My first goal, taking the facility down around me.

The handcuffs were disengaged easily enough when you had all the time in the world to smash them against your cell wall without punishment. It took some time, but the cuffs were off, my power erupted from my fingertips in the form of leaves circling my forearms. It was very little, but it would do for now. Especially cause I could feel the plant life outside of these very walls. I would collapse the very wasteland this facility was built into if I had to. I reached my hand against my cell door and vine appeared where I touched. It reached up and over the lip of the doors window and reached back down into the lock. Simply put, I was now able to get out on my own.

Outside of the cell, was chaos. Members of the D.U.P. forces were on their way to fight the intruders, but nearby there are also members of the group trying, and failing, to stop the conduits from escaping. I need to get to some plant life, soon. Nearby, a group of D.U.P. soldiers were sent flying from the upper balcony by a conduit upstairs. I swear they based this place's design on Alcatraz. I was always in a middle row cell. I did not know what it was like above or below me, who the people were where they came from. God, I miss people who don't want o kill me. Taking off to the right, I leapt down the stairs and stopped. Pressing myself against the wall, a group of D.U.P.s ran passed my hiding spot. That was too close without a power source. Getting over the railing was easy, dodging the nearby explosion not so much. I was launched down a cross path and landed with a sickening thud. However, even this would be a blessing in disguise.

When the D.U.P. brought my batch in, we learned something interesting about the facility, in fact it was something that had made the handcuffs necessary at all times. To deter conduits from trying to burrow their way out, the facility was built over a cavernous ravine in the mountain. They never cleared out the ravine, below me was the reaching branches of a tree. I called the plant to me and the leaves leapt from the branch to my hand and soon the branch followed. I could feel my energy filling up, but it was not enough to tear this place to the ground yet. Then I heard the announcement.

"Greetings, welcome to the conduit club. On today's list of activities, killing D.U.P.s and meeting the man who saved you all from this prison by the front door. Please enjoy them both and I hope you have a fantastic day," the voice announced. That must have been him, Delsin Rowe. We heard a lot about him from the D.U.P.s getting reports back from Seattle. I would have to avoid him like the plague. Guys like him, are power-hungry. You give them an inch, they will take everything. Saw them a lot on the streets.

"'T hell with him," I mumbled under my breath. I just needed to find more plant life. The chaos inside seemed to kick it up a notch when the lockdown was engaged.

"Whoops, Eugene, can you uh, turn that off," the voice said over the intercom again. With doors closing in front of me, I dashed forward and barely made through into the next chamber. Rolling to my feet, I ran forward, looking for the next route to get out of this place. How long had it been since I had seen the light of day? The lockdown was still in effect. I ran up the nearby stairs and was confronted by, a small boy around 12 crouched behind a piece of rubble.

"Hey, you ok?" I called out to him. He looked up at me and shrunk back into the rubble more. "C'mon kid, I know I prolly look like crap here, but you can trust me. I'm a conduit," I called to him. This prompted him to get up and run. "Wait, kid!" I chased after him. He dashed around a corner, following him around I was met with the fist of a much larger man. But, he was most certainly a conduit of some sort, no human hit this hard. I felt myself collide with the railing and flip over backwards onto the hard concrete ground.

"Good job shorty, this one looks like a keeper," a familiar voice announced. I struggled back to my feet. I looked up and saw him in civilian clothes. I knew it had to be him. Delsin. "You, uh, trying to go somewhere before shaking hands with me bud?"

Spitting the little bit of blood that found its way into my mouth before my wound healed, I stood up straighter and popped my neck. "Delsin?"

"I'm popular around here," Delsin commented jumping up on the railing. "So where do you think your going?"

"Oh, you know, around," I replied. I looked at the rubble and up above it was a message from the greater powers. Y'know, if they existed. Up there, was a tree. Now, how did I get up there? "You got some guts breaking into the D.U.P. prison system here. What is the occasion?"

"Power collection," Delsin said deadly serious. He wants my power? Or all of our powers? "Your turn," he said holding his hand out, a smoky haze taking over his hand.

I laughed. "Come take it," I challenged. Why am I so damn confrontational? Delsin launched himself into the air and launched a massive burst of smoke my direction. Flying back from the force of it was some of the most intense force I have ever felt. The impact against the wall was the worst part of this whole experience. Getting my feet under me was the easy part. Standing up was the hard part. "Alright, you right, you definitely are on a mission right now." I needed to make my move, this was not going my way.

I leapt up into the air and a fine shot out from hand to the ceiling pulling me up to the hole. A large blast followed after me, but I already had what I wanted. Absorbing more of the plant life in the area, I was ready to do what I needed. "See ya!" I called as I ran through the snowy mountain. But I can't leave yet. This place is still standing and that kid is in there still. I do not know what his powers are, but I have to get him away from that psychopath. I can tell already, he is like an unbridled Augustine. He will corrupt everything he get his claws into. Please don't let him have claws.

I have to make preparations if I am going to take this place down. I sent my vines from my arms digging into the dirt as far as I could send them and dragging them through to the entrance of the facility. The overcast just made the outside world feel like a bigger lighter hole. It took me a solid 40 minutes to do what I needed outside. This entrance would never be used again. I leapt down in front of the entrance. I laid my hand down on the ground to let a mass of vines and branches grow out from my position. This would have to be enough. Now to find that kid.

It may seem like a really bad idea to run back into a prison, but the kid was too young for me to trap in here. With the lockdown lifted now, the others could get out, but I would not leave that kid in there with that monster. I was a little low on energy, but I had no time to spare. I only needed one diversion to get the kid.

Pushing my long brown hair back, I found myself back in the room I had escaped from. Damn, I had actually been really close to the exit after all. Running forward I saw the kid back in his spot. That damn Delsin guy was using him as another diversion. Leaping up into the air I grabbed the platform and quickly scampered over the top of the railing. "C'mere kid," I told and this time he crawled to me and let me grab him. Jumping back down, I took off running from where I had come from.

"You shouldn't have come back here punk," I heard Delsin announce behind me. Without looking, I pointed my hand out behind me and launched a large wave of leaves at him, they would leave minorly annoying cuts at the worst but the distract him and interrupt his vision at the best.

"I got you kid, just hang onto me," I whispered to the little guy in my arms.

A new voice called out. Her accent was sharp as she yelled, "Stop right there Leafy. I will put you down right now!"

I kept running. There was no possible way they were going to stop me from getting out of here. It was then that I felt the worse pain I had ever experienced physically. The sudden pierce of Neon flying through my chest. Not just one, but three all in the same area. I fell to the side as I got to the exit. I looked at the kid in my arms and my blood turned to ice. His lifeless eyes staring back at me and I saw the three bleeding holes in his body. One so small, could not be expected to survive such a devastating attack, even if they were a conduit. In a moment his life was taken in cold blood by a group of monsters. I felt my body absorb some of the plant life around me. It healed my body and filled me up with energy, but this feeling was something beyond even the strongest thing I had ever been capable of in the past. My body was forcibly attracting plants to it. It even caused the vines and roots that I had set earlier to become so attracted to my position, they bore holes through the solid walls of the prison to reunite with me. I could only imagine that I looked like a spider in the middle of green web. The three intruders approached me at that moment.

"Damn, the kid died. You didn't need to put his life in such reckless danger," Delsin commented. Was he seriously trying to piss me off by pinning this child's death on me?

My breathing was heavy, my voice ragged as it took everything I could muster to not sob over the death of this kid. "You. Did. This. Delsin. The blood of every person in this facility is on your hands. You don't deserve to live, but you don't deserve a marked grave either," I spat my words at him with as much venom as I could coat them with in that moment.

"Really?" Delsin asked with a dirty smirk. "What are you gonna do?"

The vines all began to strain as my anger rose and my heart rate increased. "I am destroying this place. With you inside of it. On my name, the memory of the people who tried to protect me from the D.U.P. the people who hunt deserving monsters like you. For him. My name is Lucas Wolfe!" I was yelling so loud by the end, the tree looked genuinely taken aback by me. "GO TO HELL!" The vines and roots all desperately reached for me all at one and the very foundation of the prison was rocked. The entrance was immediately covered in massive cracks as the deafening sound of many pieces of metal and concrete snapping in two all within a short amount of time reverberated off its crumbling walls. The final pull to collapse the entrance was an explosive one that sent out so much energy, the wave hit me and launched me many yards from where I stood. Landing near me, was the body of the kid. I scooped him up in my arms and just held onto him, half-heartedly wishing he would wake up. His uniform read Mason.

Present Day…

"Mason? Your order is ready," the employee at the counter announced. I walked forward and took my food from her. She flashed me what appeared to be some kind of flirty smile which I returned with a simple nod of my head. I never liked fast food. Eating it after all these years in that damn hole did not help, but when you are on the road as much as I am, you usually don't get to be picky about what you eat. I never really got around to cutting my hair, so I stole some hair ties to keep it out of my eyes in a half-hearted attempt at a ponytail. My facial hair was little bit scraggly, but that was probably due to having not shaved for a few days. I almost never nick myself these days too. It would only be a few short hours to the City of Angels.

I could never let go of what Delsin did that day to that poor boy. I buried him up in the mountains, within the roots of a tree that I dug his name into with a rock. To never forget what had happened to him, I took on the name Mason. Meanwhile, I stole myself this long brown raincoat and regular clothes. Traveling south was slow, but I managed to make it all the way here without getting stopped by the D.U.P. But Delsin beat me there, so I have a lot of ground to make -up.

"Can I join you?" a slightly familiar voice asked, breaking my train of thought. It was the counter lady. "I am on my lunch break now."

"I can't stop you," I replied half-heartedly. She sat down across from me with a burger and fries.

With a smile she asks, "Where are you from? I've never seen you around here."

"Come from up North," I replied. Figured it would best to not mention I was from Seattle. The less association I could make with Conduits the better.

"Oh," she comments idly. "Then I am sure you are aware of the Con- er, Bioterrorist situation up there right?" She started to say Conduit. Only Conduit and Conduit supporters referred to us like that. For everyone else, they were so strictly programmed to call us Bioterrorists, I sometimes had to wonder if they even remember we used to be called Conduits.

"You don't seem too hostile about them," I commented.

She blushed and dug into her food. After a moment she replied, "I don't think they are bad people at heart. I think regular people have pushed them too far. My friend in Washington lost her older brother years ago. He never did anything wrong. Sure maybe he could summon plant life, but he never hurt anyone."

Plants? Did she somehow know my sister? "How long has it been since you seen your friend?" I asked her.

"Two years ago, at her funeral. It was the reason I moved here, trying to get away from the memories. Her brother was gone, she spiraled out of control. I have this picture from about a week before. Did you want to see?" She explained. My heart sank into my stomach. I looked at the picture with my sister in it. The two of them were clearly a few years apart, but my sister would have been in a sophomore this year. Looking at the picture's owner, her name tag read 'Rebecca.'

"You're Rebecca?" I asked breaking my calm act.

She was surprised and then she really looked at me. "Your name isn't Mason is it?"

I nodded. "Then, Kira is gone?"

She nodded sadly. "Can we meet up after my shift? I am here for like two more hours."

"Yeah, I'll be in town for a few hours before I go on through to the City of Angels," I told her. She got up and headed back to the counter. So they had not just moved, my parents were running from the city that took both their children from them. I finished my food and left.

Looking at the small town I ended up in, there was a small store on the far side of the street. It looked like some kind of a convenience mart. I quickly went across the street. Jaywalking was the fastest option. I went into the store and immediately went to find what I was looking for, the pocket knives. Some of them boasted to be locally made. With a quick look, I noticed that there were no cameras directly pointing in this direction. I slipped the blade into my pocket and then quickly grabbed a nearby set of gloves.

Walking up to the counter I put the gloves down on the counter, "How much for these gloves?"

"7 bucks," the owner replied after scanning it. I handed him a small wad of bills. "Thank you."

I left the store with my purchase and requisition. I headed back across the street to the car I was borrowing. I popped the trunk of this Impala and grabbed my tool box. I quickly made my way around my car removing the plates, then I quickly swapped them with a nearby van. Successfully replacing the plates back on my car, I looked up and saw Rebecca leaving her job.

She approached me as soon as she saw me. "Lucas, your hair got long," Rebecca commented looking at my barely tamed mane.

I shrugged. "They don't really bother with maintaining your appearance inside Curdun Cay. It makes it easier for them to treat us like monsters if they don't take care of us like humans." my response came out bitterly. I only realized this from the way Rebecca flinched at my remark. Social skills also stunted from 5 years of being treated like an animal, I did not think about how my response would come across. "Sorry, just trying to put it behind me."

"I get that," Rebecca said quietly. We were quiet for a moment until she finally said, "I missed you."

That small tug at my heart reminded me of the history I had with this young woman in front of me. We were almost always together as kids. She and my sister liked each other and the three of us just fit together. So imagine my surprise when I turn out to be a Conduit. They accepted me, cause all I could do now was make plants grow better. The D.U.P. and our next door neighbors did not feel the same. "I missed you, too," I mumbled back. This got a small smile from her.

"So when they reported the entrance to Curdun Cay collapsed and grown over…" she began like she was wanting me to finish her thought.

I nodded. "That was me."

"I knew it," she replied with another content smile. "It would be just like you to trying to protect the world from evil. Just like in our little games of make believe."

"Oh, jeez," I replied with a small laugh. "What can I say, there were things in this life I wanted to protect." We fell silent again. "Do you wanna get in?" She nodded and we climbed into the car.

Rebecca took the picture back out, now that we were in private. "What did you want to know?" she asked.

I looked at the picture of my little sister. She had cut her hair super short and dyed black. It looked like she might have been going through one of those dark phases. "How'd it happen?" I asked finally.

Rebecca became quiet for a moment. I looked at her and saw the look on her face that tore me apart. Rebecca did not just know, she was there. "A bullet," she replied. "We were out in the shopping district. She saw a D.U.P. officer and something snapped. I didn't realize what she was going on about until she was already getting commanded to get down. She refused, they told her to stand down or they would shoot. She never stood a chance," Rebecca said as she began to sob. I reached across the center console and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Looks like I have another reason to hunt the monsters in this world," I said darkly. "I am going to kill… every last member of the D.U.P. and every conduit who makes the world think they're necessary." Rebecca looked at me with a look of intrigue. Then shock followed after.

"No, you are not thinking about going after Delsin Rowe," she exclaimed. "Are you serious? He staged the breakout that got you out of prison. He killed the conduit leader of the D.U.P. Augustine. He is already making headlines in the City of Angels."

I looked at the road that would take me to my destination. "Look, Rebecca, I have the opportunity to make a difference in this world. I have to plant the seeds to change the world." I replied with finality.

After a moment she replied, "Then I am coming with you. I couldn't protect Kira. I refuse to lose you again." I got ready to argue, but the look on her face made me realize she would follow me even if I did not take her myself. I started the car and the deal was sealed.

"Ok."

 **So as promised, a little bit of a lesson about me. When I used to write fan fictions (the many I have never posted) I used to work miniature references in to them. There have been four notable ones in this story thus far. First, I have three conduits in this story whose abilities are heavily inspired by the anime/manga _Naruto_ (Ellen-Konan, Long Haired-Blonde Conduit - Kimimaro, and Mike Yamamoto - Gaara). Second, Delsin's powers at the point that he attacked the City of Angels were Fire and Wind, one element in each hand. This was a direct reference to the powers of the "Agni and Rudra" Devil Arms from _Devil May Cry 3_. Third, Ellen and Mr. Yamamoto's first names, when shortened, both end up as character names from _Stranger Things,_ Mike and El. Finally, this chapter has a _Darkest Minds_ reference. The name Mason belonging to a bit-part character in the second book _In Time_ who would only be directly involved for a few pages as tragic addition. Meet little Mason in the flashback sequence.**

 **While I will not point out all the little references I like to make, if you catch them or ask after them, I'll let you know. :D**

 **Thanks for reading, and I will update again as soon as possible. -Nox**


	4. thirdCHAPTER: The Nightmare Scrimshaw

**Hullo! Nox here again. As of the point I posted this my story is already over 100 views. Jeez, I never thought people would be that interested in anything I had written. And if you arte here by accident? I appreciate you anyway (now I kinda feel like Mr. New Vegas). I know this update took a little longer than expected due to my not wanting it to be shorter than my first section...**

 **Updates most certainly will be slowing down going into the future. Nothing serious, but I am officially posted up to the point of where I had written. But to respond to the new review: I figure this Cole would be a good a chance to have a more caring man who has softened a little in his age (I think he would be like 35 -40 now per the timeline). Which is why the teenager and the .**

 **Anyway, thank you all again.** **It's me again, Mr. New Vegas, reminding you that you're nobody 'til somebody loves you. And that somebody is me. I love you. -Nox  
**

 _It is an old habit with theologians to beat the living with the bones of the dead._

 _\- Robert Green Ingersoll_

When one takes a walk through the park at night, they generally expect to find a few things. Lovers in the moonlight, pale moonlight meeting streetlight, and the sounds of the city filling your ears. However, this evening was not your usual walk in the park for the woman who saved me. Tonight, she came upon the scene of two young conduits fighting each other. The Water conduit was clearly the aggressor as the girl, me, was taken off guard and put immediately on the defensive. Our fight continued for some time until I landed a devastating attack to the back of the boy. It looked like the fight was over, until the pond seemed to raise from its resting place and assaulted the young woman who sprouted paper wings and hid behind them.

She was probably surprised to see that I survived, it seemed my wings, though significantly damaged, held up. However, the second wave of the attack immediately tore through my shield and I was pressed down against the ground and the Water Conduit was back on his feet. She could not allow this to continue. She ran forward as fast as she could to my aid. The bones in her arm expanded out of the flesh. Her fingers tore open and her phalanges extended out and sharped, They stabbed into the younger man.

"Who…?" He began to ask, until she twitched my fingers and watched him writhe.

"Don't speak," she said to him softly. "Silence could keep you alive longer." This resulted in silence as the water had gone back to rest. She turned her gaze to the me. "A paper angel dares to fight the sea? Brave or foolish?" She asked me.

"Why not both," I replied through gritted teeth as she got to her feet. She smiled. "Says his name is Sammy," I told her.

She looked back to him. "So, the rebellion picks on young women now?" she asked him.

After it was clear he would not answer without her permission she gestured with her free hand for him to speak. "Not here on official business, just found myself in need," Sammy replied. Disgusting. Her index finger retracted from his torso and then angled for his head. The blood swarmed around her free arm as she walked toward him. The index bone drifted closer and closer to his face.

I looked away as she slowly siphoned some blood from his wounds. "Tell me why I should not kill you now?" She asked him. He was clearly in pain and she stopped all of her powers and let him fall to the ground. He looked up at her and a look of realization on his face mad her coo..

"Y-y-y-you're her!" He announced pushing himself away from us. "Vivian. You damn Succubus!" He yelled. Sammy pointed his hand out in front of himself and the water stream blasted him backwards, he then took off to the air.

"Succubus?" I heard a new voice ask from behind us. I turned to see Cole.

"Or you can just call me Vivi," the woman called Vivian replied with a coy wink. "Are you ok, child?" I nodded slowly exhausted.

"El, let's head back before anyone gets curious," Cole said and I followed him. As we walked, I turned back and waved. Vivi, was following us. I waved good-bye, not signalled for her to come with us. However, Cole did not seem to mind her presence and I highly doubted he was not aware of her. Cole looked at me and then asked, "So how did the fight go, El?"

"Rough," I admitted. "Could have been worse though, he did have pretty much every advantage. Energy source, water vs paper, experience. I don't know how I survived it at all."

Cole chuckled. "You're just lucky he's not as strong as some of the other Conduits around here," he told me.

"How much stronger do they get?" I asked.

"Well, there is me, Vivi over there, Mike, an-," Cole explained.

Mike? "Wait, you mean Mr. Yamamoto?" I interrupted.

"Yes?" He replied, confused. Was that just second hand knowledge in the world of the Conduits? How much of this world was there when you pulled back the curtains? This was so much information process, I don't know if I can do it.

Vivi then spoke up from behind us, "Ah yes Mike, the only person in this city I don't want to end up on opposite sides of the parting lines. His powers over sand are truly something to behold I assure you." After her display of total dominance earlier… Mr. Yamamoto is the only one she would not want to face. He told me we were peers.

"One of the most modest men I know, I don't know how he does it," Cole admitted out loud. Vivi hummed in agreement. We got to Cole MacG's Electronics shortly after. Entering the building, Zeke greeted Vivi. So they did all know each other, at least somewhat.

Vivian made herself comfortable on the counter, "I come here with news, Demon. About one Delsin Rowe."

My attention was immediately piqued. "Oh," Cole replied. "The guy just got here like a day ago, what could you have possibly found out about him?"

Vivian chuckled at the comment. "There is much to learn about the enemy of everything we worked for. His non-conduit brother was drowned in Seattle by Augustine, he has already laid claim to an entire sector of the city. The members of the Conduit Underground in that sector were told to join or be destroyed. So you are right, he has only just got into town. He already has a small army under his flag. If my source is to be trusted, he has learned of Mike and is getting ready to make his move on the book store," she explained.

"Mr. Yamamoto's in danger?" I asked.

Zeke explained, "He could be. But this is only if Delsin can prove any kind of challenge for him. Do we know the attacks ETA?"

"In the morning," Vivian answered.

Zeke nodded. "But how do we get to him, the D.U.P. have the city checkmarked?" Cole went behind the counter and grabbed a strange looking two pronged device.

"We take the sewers," Cole replied.

Zeke whooped. "Just like old times partner."

Vivi reached behind the counter and took out a small stack of paper and handed it to me. I absorbed it hungrily. "We shall go immediately," she announced.

The four of us left the store and Cole immediately jammed his tool into the manhole to pry it open. We made our way down one at a time. I followed close behind Cole. All our climbing earlier was almost like training for this moment, because he could move fast and it took everything I could give to keep up with him in the enclosed area. Mr. Yamamoto was basically the only person in this world I considered family, there is no way I would let him get harmed by this monster. It has been weeks since I last saw him, would he be proud of the progress I have made?

Our trek through the sewers continued on for a couple of hours as we finally got to a manhole ladder. Cole climbed up and pushed the cap off to the side. Looking up, I was beginning to see remnant of morning light in the sky. How long had it taken us to get this far?

"It is clear, let's go," Cole called down as he climbed down and helped lift each of us out of the sewer. He slid the manhole cover back into place and we all proceeded up a nearby building. I slowed down a little to watch Vivian climb up the building as I was curious to see how she would do it. She wore eccentric clothing, after all. Her coat looked like it came straight out of one of those cheap victorian-era vampire movies. However, her many piercings came across more scene than goth. Her hair, now that I was finally seeing it better light, was layered and the innermost layer was actually a dark purple color. With small rips all about her clothing, I had very little to go on establishing her personality from that. Her climbing was surprisingly normal. She simply gripped the side of the building like Cole and Zeke did. I dashed up a short distance to catch-up but climbed normally the rest of the way. Once we were all on the roof we took a short break for Zeke's sake and then we were off again. Leaping from building to building was easy for most of us and Cole only stopped to catch Zeke on the longer jumps. The above ground travel was much faster than traversing the sewers but as we got closer to our target we already heard the sound of combat. At first we were not to concerned about it, until a car went flying through the air. Over the roofline.

Cole slowed the group as we approached. The scene before us, was one I had not expected to see. Mr. Yamamoto standing in the middle of the street surrounded by sand with Delsin, the monster himself, standing on a nearby car with concrete flowing from his arms. On the other side of Mr. Yamamoto was a young woman with pink hair, this was the Neon girl known as Fetch. Cole's arms crackled with lightning. He focused his view on Delsin. Vivian tapped me on the shoulder.

"Follow child. We do not want to be in the way if Delsin turns on Cole," I followed Vivian as we made our way down some buildings, and then crossed over the street.

Down below we saw the scene continue to unfold. "They weren't kidding when they said you were probably the strongest Conduit in the city, Sandman. I am gonna have fun with the powers I get from you," Delsin challenged.

Mr. Yamamoto simply shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose this can't be helped then. You made life pretty difficult for conduits around here. I am gonna have to pack up and move after this, and I really don't want to do that," he replied. "There are people around here I want to protect from that life and you are making that very difficult," he continued and seemed to get darkly angry.

"Is 'e?" The one called Fetch asked. "If you didn't have to hide in the first place there would be no problem at all."

Mr. Yamamoto simply became annoyed. "So if something inconveniences you, you destroy it? I find it interesting that you claim we are superior when you so willingly stoop to the level of the people you think you are above," he replied evenly. It was too even, like he was trying to hold something back. This comment seemed to visibly anger Delsin as his powers flared and he encased himself in concrete and charged my friend. However, Mr. Yama… no, Mike was not having any of it. A wall of sand seemed to raise from the ground as he raised his arm. It swept up in front of him following his arm and it looked less like a wall of a sand and more like the arm of a giant. Delsin crashed into it and simply bounced off of it. Fetch's powers flared and she took the shot at Mike's back. He extended his other arm in that direction and a giant hand of sand simply consumed the attack and continued forward towards her. Delsin let the armor crumble off of himself and took to the air. Cole's bolt of lighting scared me at first, A giant concentrated stream launched at a mid air Delsin. Delsin's body fell out of the air. He flipped back onto his feet.

"Who the hell…?" Delsin asked. Cole jumped from the roof and landed heavily on the ground. He took the pronged device off of his back and it crackled to life with electricity.

"Name is MacGrath," he introduced himself.

Delsin looked at him and over at Mike who was now trying to catch Fetch with his power but she was just a little too quick for him, though she could not land a successful shot on him.

"Come child, we shall run interference," Vivian announced pointing down the street. I looked over and saw a hooded boy making his way to this encounter. At first anyone would have simply written him off as just another person. However, the large demon entities around him would suggest otherwise. This must have been the other Conduit from the Curdun Cay breakout. How could anyone be expected to face down such an enemy? "Do not be afraid, take down the leader and the demon's will follow."

I nodded and called forth my powers, the paper swarmed around hands. The hooded boy called, "My problem is not with you conduits. Leave now and you will not be harmed."

No witty retort came to me in that moment. How did people do that so well in the movies? However Vivian replied, "The only one who shall be harmed this day is you if you continue to assist Delsin Rowe." Damn she's good. A group of demons suddenly appeared around our location. "Duck child," she commanded and I did as I was told and hit the deck. Bone and blood radiated from her as various bones seemed to jut out from her body and extend out into the Digital Demons around us. That was disturbing. Cool in a weird way, but I will definitely be having nightmares of that in the future. The bones all retracted into her body. That explains the small rips. I got back to my feet and immediately dashed towards the hood man. I reappeared behind him and jumped up with my fist clenched. He moved out of the way but did not make any immediate attempt to fight back. There was something strange about him. He was thin, awkward even. He was like me in a way. The way he looked at me was drenched in sadness.

"Please leave, I don't want to hurt you," I whispered to him.

He looked over at Vivian who was tearing his demons apart with her powers. Like a tornado of blood and bone. Really cool, but still extremely disturbing to me. He looked back at me. "If Delsin finds out I flaked on him, he might hurt me," he replied.

"Tell him that you got stopped by a crazy woman with the power over her own bones and blood and her spunky sidekick," I replied to him offering him a kind smile. "I mean it would basically be the truth."

He looked back at Vivian and let his demons fade away. She looked over at us with a confused look. I looked at the conduit in front of me and winked. He nodded at me with a small smile. He ran in the opposite direction.

"He's leaving?" Vivian asked me.

I nodded. "He seems like a good enough person, I think. He's scared."

Vivian chuckled, "You have a good read on people despite your age. Trust that instinct, it will get you far. Let's get back to our allies."

We ran back across the rooftops. Two new people had shown up, there was no sign of Delsin or Fetch. I dashed down to the group.

"Ellen?" Mr. Yamamoto said. He moved forward and embraced me. "I am so happy you are ok. It looks like you have managed to get some control over your powers."

I nodded not sure how else to respond. I looked at the two newcomers. A red-headed girl in a fast food uniform shirt and a long haired man in a long brown trench coat. They both looked barely older than me. They were talking with Cole.

"Who are they?" I asked.

Mr. Yamamoto replied, "Not entirely sure, the boy is a conduit who seemed to have a vendetta against Delsin. His arrival with me and Cole already here forced their retreat. Seemed like they were waiting for back-up that never arrived."

Vivian interjected having jumped from the roof. "You can thank the young one for that, Mike."

"Vivian, still as over-dramatic as ever I see," Mr. Yamamoto replied with a gentle smile. We looked over at the newcomers again.

Cole then turned and announced, "It isn't safe for any of us to be out here any more. We'll get back over to the uptown district and we will regroup tonight." Cole signalled for us to follow him. Mr. Yamamoto and and the two new comers joined our group. The trip through the sewer was faster this time. When we got back to the exit Cole stated, "We all need to disappear until tonight. El, you take Rebecca and Lucas here with your hideout during the day. Mike and Vivian you guys gotta disappear too. I will be be back at the electronics shop with Zeke. We will all come back together tonight at sun down."

"Alright," I replied. Vivian and Mr. Yamamoto took their leave and headed to a different part of the sewer. I led Rebecca and Lucas out of the sewer and over to a nearby alleyway. I climbed up the ladder on the building and worked my way up onto the roof of the building. With a desire to be somewhat comfortable, I got Cole to help me bring a dumpster up here one night which I turned on its side and propped open. It was filled with paper which was not the most comfortable thing in the world to sleep on, but it was better than nothing. My two guests did not seem to mind but that might have been them just being polite.

"Home sweet home?" Lucas asked me with a shrug.

I nodded, "Only home I can go back to now that I am a conduit."

He pulled out bottles of soda from his bag and handed one to me and one to Rebecca. "To the super homeless," he remarked raising his bottle. We all clinked bottles.

We all took a long drink and just sat in the moment. "So you are a conduit?" I asked Lucas.

"Plants. You?" He asked.

"Paper," I replied.

Rebecca said, "So before when you said now that you're a conduit. That suggests that you did not know until recently. Right?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I have know about my powers for about a month now. Weird story, getting bullied suddenly my body bursts into flurries of paper and I can't go home anymore. Not that I really liked going there anyway," I explained getting more and more down about the answer.

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that," Rebecca replied awkwardly. Lucas gave her a comforting look. It was fine, she did not know me or my life from before.

"How about you Lucas?" I asked. "How long have you had your powers?"

Lucas thought for a moment. "5 years, 3 Months, 3 days and some change," he replied. Jeez he had it down to the day? "I spent most of that time however, in Curdun Cay."

"Oh," I replied. "So then you got out when Delsin attacked the facility."

"Well, most of me," he replied sourly. I looked at Rebecca who shrugged with a exacerbated look on her face.

After a moment I finally asked, "So how did you end up here from all the way up North?"

A dark look took over his features. When he replied, he did it with only one word.

"Mason."


	5. fourthCHAPTER: Shattered Minds, Broken H

**Hullo, hullo! Apologies for the the wait. After getting the flu and being bedridden for days and days, I finally have gotten around to finishing this chapter. The plot thinkens as we learn more about the past of the OC's and some rumors about the otherside of the party lines.**

 **Thanks for your patience and enjoy! - Nox**

 _We cannot find peace when the mind rages war against the heart, when we fight with our thoughts the pull of our love."_

― _Dragos Bratasanu_

One Month Earlier...

My mind was numbed, I did not think, I could not let myself think. I carried the body of Mason into the woods with me. He was light due to underfeeding and his limbs were thin. Though I could not really judge him. I only resisted becoming a twig from basically forcing myself to work out in my cell. I found a large cedar tree and found a good place. I could not leave Mason outside that place without a proper burial. My hand reached out and forced the roots to move bringing up the frozen earth. I laid his body in the small cavern under the tree. I lightly wrapped his body in the roots and placed vines down in there to make it look nicer.

I pushed the dirt back into place by hand. My hand brushed a rock when I packed down some of the dirt. I grabbed it and began lightly hacking into the trees bark. The tree was resistant at first, but with enough force, the tree's surface chipped away overtime. It took some time, but finally the word was there. 'Mason.'

"I-" I started saying out loud. Who was I kidding? "I am so sorry Mason. You needed a hero. I couldn't be that for you." Why was I doing this? "Just seems to be a pretty common theme in my life. You deserved better than this, Mason. You deserved better than me, than Delsin, than being a Conduit, than Curdun Cay. You're never going to know what it is like to kiss someone and feel full of happiness. There is someone out there I needed to protect. Then the D.U.P. took me away from them. Then I tried to protect you, and a conduit took you away from me." I felt the tears welling and I just did not care. "Why can't I just keep people? Why do I have to lose everything?" I slammed my fists on the ground. Over and over. When my hands swelled, I continued to swing against the ground. My tears froze in my anger. I stood up and turned away from the tree. "I will keep living for you, Mason. I will survive for you. I will end Delsin, for me."

I went through the trees wanting to put as much distance between me and that damned prison as possible. It was cold, but I did not care. The snow stung my feet, but whatever damage they took was healing faster than I could register any pain. After what could have been hours I came upon a small town. My orange jumpsuit would incriminate me immediately, so I needed to hideout until dark and then sneak into town to steal some clothes. In the meantime, I found myself an empty house on the outer edge of the town. I Forced the vine into the lock and pushed the door open. The inside of the house was almost as cold as the outside, but this would at least keep body heat. Finally after a long journey, I slumped sideways and felt myself falling asleep. That was the first time in years that I could remember dreaming and I dreamed of home in Seattle. But everywhere time I tried to go somewhere I used to go, Mason was there blocking my path.

Launching myself from the ground and up on my feet, I pressed myself against the far wall from my resting spot like I was trying to run from the dream. Putting space between me and the monster that haunted me. I looked at the drawn window blinds and no light broke through them. How long had I been asleep? I slid one of the blinds out of the way and looked outside, besides the streetlight, the town was dark.

I went to the back door and let myself out back into the cold outside. The house had not warmed up much in my sleep, but it warmed up enough for me to feel the difference. The fresh snow on the ground was easier on my feet, but beneath it all I could still feel the harder packed snow. A light dusting of flakes was currently falling from the sky and for a moment I stopped walking and just watched them. It had been 5 years since my last snowfall. I felt something building up behind my eyes. They stole my life from me. For five years I was stuck in that hellhole. Could you imagine it? Realizing you were a tortured fifteen-year-old boy in the body of a twenty-year-old man. I should have graduated with my friends. Rebecca and I were supposed to go to Prom together. Like we promised…

I fell to my knees fighting back against the tears in my eyes and the sobs building in my chest. Then the image of Mason burned itself against the backs of my closed eyelids. I was stuck like this for far too long. Then I struggled back to my feet and continued my trek into the town. After a few close calls with cars passing by, I finally found myself outside local clothing store. After forcing the lock, I went inside the store and began rummaging through their stock. I was not impressed at all. Far be it from me to be picky, but my taste in clothes had not really changed much in Curdun Cay. Long story short, after the 20th flannel, I gave up on looking for a long sleeve shirt. I settled on a t-shirt and instead got the brown leather jacket. It was not much, but it would get me to Seattle. It would get me home. I grabbed a pair of jeans and some work boots then changed in the store. I took the jumpsuit and dumped it out back in the dumpster.

Now that I was back outside, "Where the hell am I?" I asked out loud. This was going to be a long journey home. No matter what, I would find a way to get back home to Seattle. Even if it killed me to get there.

Present Day…

The story I told them started from waking up to the break out. The way the two girls looked at me when I told them of my daring escape was unbelieveable. Admiration. When I told them about Mason… pity. I would not hold it against them. After all, this is my burden. When I told them about my dream and my realization, they were contemplative though notably concerned about me. Trying to relive all of this so soon was wearing on me and I fell quiet for a while.

"It is ok, Lucas," Rebecca told me sweetly. "You don't need to tell us anymore if you don't want to." I lightly smiled at her.

Ellen, who at this point had snuggled herself into her dumpster, commented sheepishly, "So were you two like… childhood sweethearts or something?"

"Something like that," Rebecca commented idly. I simply nodded in agreement. Calling us childhood sweethearts seemed far too normal to me. It was not just about being to be lovers or anything. We were friends. We had each other's backs and it seemed like the world would never break us apart. To say that we did not develop some kind of deeper relationship as we got older would be a lie. However, the D.U.P. cleaned that pretty easily.

Ellen giggled in response. "I wish someone could have looked at me the way you two look at each other. Just once," she replied a little dreamily. This was kind of embarrassing.

"It'll happen," I assured her.

Ellen just shrugged and said, "I doubt it. Who would put themselves in that position for a conduit? And even if they did not hate conduits, why would they put themselves in a position to permanently lose me to the D.U.P?" The more she talked the gloomier she got. She had a habit of putting herself down. Rebecca spoke next.

"Hey," she started. "You are going to find a guy. I promise."

"I'd settle for anyone."

I interjected, "And the D.U.P will not take you if I have anything to say about it." This got an appreciative look from her. She definitely was dealing with some deep-seated confliction. Like me, things from her past were haunting her now. Conversation calmed as we all seemed to be lost in thought. Sleep was starting to beckon me. Ellen seemed to also be falling asleep in her paper nest. Rebecca crawled in and sat against the back next to her head and Ellen rested on Rebecca's lap. I summoned some plant life in front of the opening placing vines to help insulate the colder weather. Leaning against the outside of the dumpster I was soon treated to the sight of the sun breaking through the clouds for a brief moment before I finally fell asleep.

I returned to a dreamless sleep. I remember stirring when I felt myself being moved. When I fully awoke, I was inside the dumpster, Ellen and Rebecca were outside as the light in the sky was beginning to fade.

"So you really care about him. huh?" Ellen asked Rebecca.

Rebecca hummed in confirmation. "I always have," she replied. "He didn't change at all when his powers developed. Well at least for the most part, he did give me a lot of pretty flowers after it happened. But, he's the one that gave me faith in the conduits and their capacity to be good people. That conduits can be just as good as regular humans. Just like how regular humans are capable so much evil. Like your step dad or your bullies."

I remember Ellen mentioning that she had been bullied, but what was this about her stepfather? Ellen simply replied, "Yeah."

"Did you," Rebecca asked carefully, "ever try to report the man?" Report him? What did he do?

"No," Ellen replied quietly. "People don't exactly take the report of step-children seriously. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if I had tried and it got back to him."

"You're that scared of him?"

"More than anything in the world. I wore my first cast because of that man and his fists. I missed a week of school because of him to make sure the swelling of my face was no longer obvious. That happened less and less often as he got better at covering his tracks. Discoloration was never enough to get my school to do anything," Ellen explained getting more and more upset as she spoke. While her self-doubt issues made more sense, I could not listen to this anymore. Crawling out of the dumpster I was greeted by the sight of Rebecca cradling Ellen in her arms. I sat down on the other side of Ellen and put my arm around the two girls next to me.

"Lucas," Rebecca started, but I cut her off with a finger raised to my lips..

We all sat there quietly. At this point we were no longer just kids, we were survivors. Orphans of a war that we never wanted to be apart of, yet here we were. "We'll all find a better life someday. If they won't let us earn it with words, then we will take it by force. But from now on, this little family we have right here has to stick together. If you two will have me, I am not going anywhere," I told them. It felt corny, yet completely appropriate.

"To our broken little family," Rebecca said grabbing Ellen's hand.

"Our broken little family," Ellen said grabbing my hand. The three of us stayed there until the sun finished setting. Once it was down, we moved to go down the building. Ellen simply jumped off. At first it caught me off guard but seeing her land perfectly fine got me curious. I leapt down after her. I landed with no effort at all. Rebecca climbed down after us.

The three of us made our way to Cole MacG's Electronics. Inside we found the one called Mr. Yamamoto and the other human Zeke.

"Hey you three," Zeke called to us as we entered. "Glad to see you all made it in one piece."

"That's one way of putting it," Rebecca commented quietly. I could not help the smirk that found its way to my face.

"Where is Vivian?" Ellen asked.

Mr. Yamamoto pushed his glasses up more securely on his face. "She and Cole have stepped in the back to discuss some sensitive information," he explained. "From what I can tell, it has to do with Delsin and the D.U.P. Strictly 'need-to-know' from what I can tell."

Ellen then thought out loud, "Wonder where she gets her information?"

"The Conduit Underground mostly. She was once as pretty big player with them until they got too political. Long story short, she is still respected so if they have information, she has it too," Zeke explained.

"Conduit Underground?" Rebecca asked. "They used to have one of those in Seattle."

"Quite a few cities do," Mr. Yamamoto explained.

A sudden thump in the other room got our attentions as Cole left the back room in a bit of rage. "Are you serious? Do they honestly expect me or Delsin to go along with that?"

"If what we heard is true, it may not be a matter of 'going along with it,' Cole," replied the one called Vivian as she followed him out of the back room. "We know that they have the ability to give people the powers of Prime Conduits, like how the members of the D.U.P. can use concrete powers despite not being conduits themselves. We don't know whether or not the prime conduit has to give the power willingly or not. You have experience such a process yourself already. Remember Kuo?"

Lightning crackled to life on Cole's arm as he pointed it at Vivian. "Be very careful on how you continue this conversation, Vivi," he warned her. Who was this Kuo person?

Vivian put her hands up and took a step back. "All I am saying," she began slowly choosing her words carefully, "when Augustine was killed, it left a big power vacuum in the ranks of the D.U.P. and someone might try to make you or Delsin fill that void."

Mr. Yamamoto stepped forward between the two. "If you both could calm down. I am sure that this is very important and serious business, but in the meantime we do have a killer conduit on the loose, probably looking for at least three of the people in this room," he explained calmly. The two finally calmed down

"Alright," Zeke started, "now that we are all here, we need to come up with a gameplan for dealing with Delsin Rowe. He has a lot of powers so we are going to have to work together to bring him down."

"What all powers does he have?" Ellen asked.

"Well he has Neon and Smoke," I replied. "It was what I saw him use when he staged the attack on the D.U.P. prison."

"Fire and Wind," Zeke added. "It was what he used to attack the city."

"Assuming he has gotten the power from his more nervous follower, some kind of digital or photon power," Vivian included.

"Concrete, per our fight with him this morning," Mr. Yamamoto added.

"So at least six that we know of?" Cole asked.

"Plus any number he might have acquired at Curdun Cay," Rebecca commented, trying to not let the fear in her voice show. I grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Vivian then added, "On top of which, he is on his way to the residential district. I think he is looking for the head of the D.U.P. in the city, like in Seattle."

"He's punishing the D.U.P." I commented bitterly. "Then he will punish the humans who let them take over the city. Just like Seattle." The state of that city after he was done with it made my blood boil. "So we go and stop him right?"


End file.
